by Leia Stone
I raised one eyebrow. “What is it?”
Clearly this wasn’t a normal pendant.
His lips quirked. “Brielle, you’re a Celestial blessed by four angels. There is no way you do not carry their light inside of you.”
His words shook me. After the Lucifer tattoo, the dark magic and all that, I hadn’t realized how much I needed to hear that. My eyes grew misty.
“But my light… it’s broken.” I gestured to my hands. When that Succubus had tried to attack me, light hadn’t shot out of my hands, darkness had.
He shook his head and picked up the necklace. “I think it’s hiding. I can’t remove the Dark Prince’s mark, but I can trap the dark powers within you.”
With that statement, he confirmed it. I had dark powers. I hadn’t even told him yet about the black whip I could produce. But his words about containing it gave me hope.
“So I wear this and no more dark blobs flying out?” I reached for the pendant.
He nodded. “That’s right. Unless you take it off.”
My heart pained then, Sera wasn’t here to experience this with me. She’d be so happy for me. I missed her. It’d been too long, but I couldn’t come up with a viable plan about how to get her back. Shea said she’d open a portal for me and I could try to call to her, but that was a huge risk and a shot in the dark. Especially after learning from my history class that our world directly overlaid Hell. Sera would be back in Inferno, unless someone in Hell moved her. That was a possibility I couldn’t even think about.
Mr. Claymore stood and took the necklace, attaching it around my neck. The moment the stone rested against the tattooed mark on my chest, I felt a tingle throughout my body as a weight seemingly lifted from me.
“Whoa,” I whispered. Taking in a deep breath, I felt lighter than ever before, as if the stress I’d been carrying, the self-doubt and worry just… disappeared.
“Feel something? That’s a good sign,” Mr. Claymore added.
Footsteps approached as Mr. Rincor made his way over to my desk.
“All right, Brielle. I have a feeling this has been our roadblock. Let’s give it a go now, what do you say?”
My light studies professor was so patient and sweet with me. We’d been through a lot on my journey, including months of him telling me just to not use my powers, and nearly giving up on me. There was a time when we’d both admitted I may not have light powers within me beyond my barely glowing palms. But now… now I had hope, which that was a good and dangerous thing. Hope could let you down, but it could also redeem you.
I nodded nervously as the two professors stepped behind me. They weren’t worried about getting blasted with light. No, they stepped behind me because when I usually tried this, dark magic flew out of me and tried to hurt whoever was in my way.
Holding my hands up, I pointed them in front of me at the vacant room.
“I’m nervous.” The confession flew from my lips.
“Whatever happens, or doesn’t happen, it’s okay, Brielle,” Mr. Rincor’s smooth voice assured from behind me.
Okay. Here goes nothing.
I wish Sera was here.
Taking a deep breath, I felt for my Celestial power, which was a bit like a buzzing electrical feeling. It was always there but only awakened when I focused on it. Shining my attention on it now, I felt the high-wire buzz run throughout my body, stronger than ever before.
Maybe this was going to work.
One more deep breath and I pushed, hard. A bright buttery yellow light shot from my hands and illuminated the room, forcing me to turn my head, and stumble backward to avoid blindness.
“Holy mother of Mary,” Mr. Rincor breathed.
I shook my hands, trying to dim my power, but there was still an immense glow. Turning to look at my palms, I saw the glow was no longer there, but in the middle of the room was a floating, glowing… orb.
“What the heck is that?” I asked.
Mr. Rincor stepped out from behind me, his jaw slack and his eyes wide. “That is an archangel power. A Celestial orb.”
I swallowed hard. “Okay, but what exactly does it do?”
Mr. Rincor walked over to the far wall where a few swords were mounted and pulled one off. Then he approached the orb and dipped the sword into it.
“Be careful,” I deadpanned.
Now Mr. Claymore had walked out and was staring curiously at the spectacle before us. He seemed as baffled as I was.
Mr. Rincor pulled the sword from the orb and it was… on fire. Well, that wasn’t quite right. It was glowing with… light.
“Watch this,” the light studies professor warned. Then he brought the sword down slowly into one of the desks and cut through it like butter. It crashed in half, falling to the floor, and leaving Mr. Claymore and me with our eyebrows raised.
“Um, is that normal? That I made that?” I hated that word ‘normal,’ but I also desperately yearned to be normal. Catch-22.
Mr. Rincor looked at me with blazing blue eyes. “It’s incredible. This could change the war. If you were to make these orbs and leave them for the troops in the war zones, it would greatly improve our odds.”
I swallowed hard.
“Let’s talk to Raphael. She’s still learning.” Mr. Claymore laid a protective hand on my shoulder.
“Of course,” Mr. Rincor stated, looking a bit guilty. “In time, I meant.”
We all stared at the glowing orb.
“So, what do we do with it?” Mr. Claymore finally asked.
Mr. Rincor rubbed his chin. “You can throw an Abrus demon into one of these things, and they’ll dissolve. But it could also hurt a student, so I’ll have to have Raphael break it down.”
Right. Okay. Basically I was a dangerous weapon. Awesome.
The professor turned to me. “Let’s hold off on doing that again until class on Monday. We’ll go for something less grand.” He winked.
I nodded, chuckling. “You got it.”
To be honest, it had taken a lot out of me; I was ready to take a nap after that energy outburst.
Mr. Claymore motioned to the necklace. “Keep it on and I think you won’t have any… unpleasant magical issues anymore.” He meant the dark magic, of course. The unpleasant “magical issue” was that I had Lucifer’s Archangel power inside of me, to a certain degree.
I just nodded, feeling drained of energy all of a sudden.
“Can we end class early? I’m tired,” I confessed to the two gentlemen.
Mr. Rincor shook himself. “Oh, of course. You’ll probably be drained for a few days. That much light leaving you all at once is… something.”
I just bobbed my head and shuffled out of the room. Since this was my last class, I decided to go back to the dorm and take a nap.
Pulling out my phone, I shot Shea a quick text telling her about Lincoln’s party tonight, and asked her to wake me if I wasn’t up by dinner.
I felt like I’d been hit by a truck. The moment I saw my bed, I crashed onto it, and all thought left me as the fatigue won over.
Chapter Ten
It took Shea like ten tries to wake me, and I’d ended up chugging an iced coffee just to get some of my energy back. Now, we were parking at Lincoln’s new apartment complex, slightly off campus, in the Fallen Army housing compound called Lighthouse Villas.
“So… Noah asked me to sleep over at his house tonight. I told him I’d think about it,” Shea told me as I put the car in park.
The time had come to have the real ‘tough love’ talk with this woman. I turned to my best friend. “Do you love him?” I asked bluntly.
She swallowed hard and then nodded.
“Do you trust him?”
She chewed her lip. “You know that’s hard for me.”
Yeah, it was. Growing up with a vacant deadbeat dad, and her mom leaving her for drugs had messed her up. It was hard, but she needed to learn something…
“Not everyone is like your dad or mom, Shea.”
Tears welled in her e
yes and she nodded. “I know that.”
Reaching out, I grasped her hand. “I think you and Noah have reached the jumping off point. Either dive in or walk away, because it’s not fair to him to keep stringing him along, if you’re not capable of emotionally investing in him fully.”
Shea laughed. “Wow, when did you become a shrink?”
I chuckled. “I’m just saying it’s okay to put yourself out there, to trust. I don’t think Noah would ever intentionally hurt you.”
She nodded. “I totally started messing around with him at first for fun. But now…”
“Now it’s love,” I finished for her, with a squeeze of her hand.
She sighed. “Yeah.”
“Which is a good thing! The world needs more love,” I declared.
Shea grinned and reached in the back seat of my Fallen Academy-issued SUV, producing a large backpack. “Okay good, because I totally packed an overnight bag.”
Laughter bubbled out of me. “You crack me up.”
She peeked in her bag. “I brought five condoms. Do you think that will be enough?”
“Oh my God, Shea!” I gasped and then laughed again. “If that’s not enough, then you guys need to enter the sex Olympics.”
Shea just rolled her eyes, but then her face grew serious. “Is that a thing?”
Oh my God.
Shaking my head, I opened the door. “Come on. We’re late.”
I was going to need an energy drink if this fatigue kept up. I was seriously exhausted. The sheer act of walking was tiring, so when I saw there was no elevator, and remembered Lincoln was on the third floor, I groaned.
My legs were heavy sacks of Jell-O by the time we made it up there. Before we even got to the door, it flew open.
“A celestial Orb!” Lincoln shouted at me.
I guess privacy isn’t something I’m going to be allowed in this lifetime. “Who told you?” I demanded.
He raised one eyebrow as Shea slipped past him and went inside.
“Why didn’t you tell me is the bigger question here.” His words were laced with hurt.
I rolled my eyes. “I was going to once we walked inside. You beat me to it. I’ve been passed out for the past three hours trying to regain my energy.”
His tough guy routine immediately fell. “What do you mean? Are you hurt?”
“Nah, just tired as all hell.” I waved him off. “That… thing zapped all my energy.”
Lincoln reached out and stroked the pendant at my neck.
“So… who told you?” I asked again.
Lincoln sighed. “Raphael said he needed to go break down a Celestial orb on campus. Since Michael, Gabriel, and Uriel were out of town, I asked him who made it. Then I asked to see it. Holy Crap, Brielle. You…” He grinned. “You made a freaking Celestial orb.”
My lips curved into a smile too. I couldn’t help it; his dimples made the happiness come out of me. “I know. It was awesome, and scary, and pretty much awesome.”
Lincoln’s fingers reached out, stroking my cheek. “But you’re tired?” he asked, concern filling his voice.
My hand waved in nonchalance. “Mr. Rincor said it’s normal after releasing so much light.”
His brow furrowed, but then he nodded. “Come on. I have a little surprise for you.”
A surprise? I had a love-hate relationship with surprises. On one hand, I loved them and the spontaneity of it all, while on the other hand, my inner control freak wanted to know everything.
Lincoln stepped into the apartment and waved me in. As I gingerly crossed the threshold, I noticed that Chloe and her brother Donnie were there, which Luke was totally freaking out about, I was sure. The Beast Shifter was lingering in the corner of the dining room, staring at Donnie wistfully.
Everyone was standing around Noah and Darren, who were sitting at the dining table gesturing to something.
The apartment was nice from what I’d seen so far. Blandly furnished with tans and grays, but clean and updated. Lincoln’s hand wrapped around mine, as he led me over to the table.
“Where’s Blake?” I asked, noticing one member was missing from the usual foursome. Just then, he emerged from the bathroom.
“The gang’s all here!” Lincoln declared, clapping Blake on the back. “Let’s get started.”
I frowned. “I thought this was a house warming party. What’s going on?” Lincoln was most definitely acting shady.
The crowd parted, and I finally saw what was on the table—a bunch of maps and papers.
My boyfriend gestured to the crowd. “We can’t imagine what’s it’s like to be without your infinity weapon, so we’ve gathered tonight to make a plan to help you get Sera back.”
Hope burst inside my chest as my throat tightened. “For real? You think we can get her back?”
Donnie stepped forward. “I spoke to a friend, another Nightblood, who once lost his infinity weapon in a portal. He’s a commander in the Fallen Army now.”
My heart was jackknifing in my chest. “Okay.”
Donnie gave me a handsome grin, and I swear Luke melted into a puddle in the corner.
“So, what he did was to go back to the same spot he lost it in, and open a new portal. Then he had a Light Mage amplify his connection with the weapon, and use a powerful retrieving spell to get it back for him.”
“Oh my God! Can we do that?” I asked Lincoln. If he said no, I was doing it anyway. I needed Sera back no matter what.
He gave a hesitant nod. “We can, but there’s more to it.”
“While they were retrieving the weapon, a few demons got through and… someone died,” Donnie continued, ending on a barely audible whisper.
A dark storm cloud floated over my rainbows of bliss.
“Oh.”
Lincoln’s fingers threaded through mine. “You lost Sera in Inferno, so it’s not exactly the best location, but we’re going to make a plan and give it a try.”
I nodded, knowing that was all I could really hope for.
“Because we all know you can’t pass Fight Night without her,” Noah teased.
I pinned my healing teacher with a glare. “Says the guy who spends forty-five minutes on his hair every morning.”
The group erupted into a collective “Ohhh.” The shit-talking had commenced.
“Open some beers. It’s going to be a long night.” Lincoln instructed.
We settled into the plan. Of course, Shea was going to be my Light Mage helper, since she was a master at opening and closing portals now. She’d been working with Mr. Claymore in her free time, and was fully confident she could do this for me.
“I’m working an op tomorrow night in Inferno. I could get you guys clearance as a watch team,” Blake offered us.
“A watch team?” I inquired.
“Second years can go into the war zones when it’s not their assigned night, and do a watch night. They basically shadow a mission,” he explained.
My heart beat faster. “Yes, let’s do that.”
Lincoln whistled. “We’re going to pull this together in one night?”
Shea slammed her fist onto the table. “Hell yeah, we are!” she blurted out, a mild slur in her voice.
Lincoln raised one eyebrow at Noah. “Let’s cut Shea off, okay?”
She’d had like two beers. Lightweight.
Noah chuckled, rubbing the top of Shea’s head and messing up her curly hair. “I’ll make her my famous waffles while you guys plan our team. We’re going to need at least half a dozen soldiers, preferably more in case something scary comes through the portal.”
Shea shot Noah a death glare, and I knew it was because he’d messed up her hair. You never touched a woman’s curls. I knew from living with Shea the past six years, that there was no way back from a perfect curl turning to floofy frizz. You had to rewet it to get that tight tendril look again, and Shea was not one to spend that much time on it twice in one day.
Shea smoothed her locks as best she could and motioned to Donnie. “Can
you make it tomorrow?”
“Absolutely,” he answered with a nod. “I can bring three of my buddies.”
Grabbing a piece of paper and a pen, Shea started to make a list. From the sight of her handwriting, she was definitely tipsy.
Donnie turned to my gay bestie then. “Luke, you game for tomorrow night? Could really use a big strong shifter.”
Luke’s mouth hung open a little, beer clutched tightly in his hand. He wasn’t saying anything. Wow, I think the words ‘big strong shifter’ coming from Donnie’s lips froze his brain.
“He’s game. Totally,” Chloe interjected for Luke, which seemed to snap him out of his love trance.
“Totally.” Luke’s voice cracked a little, and Donnie smiled wider.
Oh my God, they’re so cute. It was obvious to everyone that Luke was crushing on Donnie, and Donnie didn’t seem to mind one bit. Interesting.
“Cool. Noah and I can work on finding a few more, but I think we’ve got a solid team. There’s no way we can let a seraph blade go that easily,” Lincoln stated next to me.
It had been three weeks. Twenty-something days without her. She was just lying there alone, or already in the hands of someone new. What if I didn’t find her?
Fatigue slammed into me then. It was nighttime now, and my three-hour nap had done nothing to help me recover from my magical antics.
“I’m exhausted.” I swayed on my feet.
Lincoln’s brow knit with concern. “Noah, can you scan her?” Grasping each of my shoulders, he started to nudge me toward the bedroom. “Sleep over. You need rest,” he whispered.
Shea and I had come together, but apparently she was going to be sleeping at Noah’s, who was only a few apartments away, so I figured it would be all right. All my brain could focus on at that point was the idea of sleep, regardless of where it happened.
I let him lead me into the bedroom, and gave a lopsided smile at the familiar denim bedding from his trailer.
“Hey, I thought this was a two-bedroom. What you gonna do with the second one?” I kicked off my shoes as he pulled the blanket back.
His dark hair was tousled over his forehead, making his blue eyes pop. “I was thinking an office or a music room. Start collecting guitars.”